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Cornell battles Kentucky in Sweet 16NCAA Basketball Betting Lines03/25/2010 - Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The "Cinderella" Cornell Big Red, the 12th seed in the East Region, will attempt to upset the top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats in the Sweet 16 of the 2010 NCAA Tournament tonight. The winner of this contest will move on to the Elite Eight to do battle with either the second-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers or the 11th-seeded Washington Huskies. Cornell is the first Ivy League team to reach the round of 16 since 1979, a tremendous accomplishment to say the least. The Big Red, who are 29-4 overall, had never won an NCAA Tournament game prior to the start of this year's event. After beating fifth-seeded Temple by a 78-65 final in the first round, Cornell was even more dominant in the second round, easily handling fourth-seeded Wisconsin, 87-69. The Big Red have set the Ivy League single-season wins record, but coach Steve Donahue's group is still hungry for more and refuses to view itself as an underdog despite Kentucky's prowess. Speaking of the Wildcats, they are led by first-year head coach John Calipari, and he boasts quite possiblly the nation's most talented starting five. Three of the starters are freshmen, and while youth can be a detriment, Kentucky has been dominant through the first two rounds of this event. After crushing 16th- seeded East Tennessee State to open play, 100-71, the team rolled past ninth- seeded Wake Forest by a 90-60 final on Saturday. The Wildcats are making their record 50th NCAA Tournament appearance and own a 100-44 record in the tourney. They are 34-2 overall this season and won both the SEC regular season and tournament titles. The Big Red won their only previous meeting with the Wildcats way back in 1967. Cornell is led by Ivy League Player of the Year Ryan Wittman, who is scoring 17.8 ppg on the strength of his 43.0 percent shooting from three-point range. While that efficiency from behind the arc is tremendous by most standards, it actually leaves Wittman slightly below the curve in regard to the team's overall accuracy. The Big Red are connecting on 43.4 percent of their three- pointers, staggering to stay the least, and they are netting 75.8 ppg while holding opponents to 63.4 ppg on 41.8 percent shooting from the floor. Louis Dale, Cornell's point guard, provides 12.6 ppg and 144 assists against a mere 66 turnovers. As for Jeff Foote, a 7-0 center, he checks in with 12.4 ppg and 8.1 rpg. Taking a look at the 18-point win over Wisconsin, the Big Red shot a stellar 61.1 percent from the floor, including 8-of-15 from three-point range. Dale led the charge with 26 points, and Wittman added 24 points. Foote and Chris Wroblewski pitched in 12 points apiece for Cornell, which earned a 29-21 rebounding advantage and only committed eight turnovers. Kentucky freshmen John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins may be the two most talented players in the nation. Wall, a dynamic point guard who recently garnered SEC Player of the Year honors, is scoring 16.8 ppg to go along with 228 assists and 60 steals. As for Cousins, a bullish power forward, he is posting 15.1 ppg and 10.0 rpg to complement his 67 blocked shots. Fellow forward Patrick Patterson is sometimes overshadowed by the rookies, but his 14.6 ppg and 7.2 rpg shouldn't be overlooked. The third freshman starter in the fold is Eric Bledsoe who brings 11.4 ppg to the floor. Kentucky is posting 80.1 ppg while limiting opponents to 65.3 ppg on 37.9 percent shooting. In the 30-point blowout of Wake Forest, it was Darius Miller, the only starter not averaging double figures in scoring, who led the squad with 20 points. Cousins added 19 points and eight boards for the Wildcats, who shot 60.3 percent from the field and limited Wake to 32.8 percent efficiency.
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FOOTBALL BETTINGAfter all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer. Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise. Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games. So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver. In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team. For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC. The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’. The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback. To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs. |
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